The Old Man of Coniston

14.5.12

Walking with; Nobody

I think it is the name that has always made me yearn to climb the "Old Man", it has a benign sounding feel at odds to the exposure to the elements that summiting it can chuck at you. The peak itself is at 803 metres which means it just squeezes into the top forty mountains in England! The peak is supposed to be the inspiration for "Kanchenjunga", the mountain climbed by the Swallows and Amazons in Arthur Ransome's book "Swallowdale". It is also a mountain very much shaped by man (as indeed is most of the Lake District). It is estimated that slate has been quarried on the mountain since Norman times, not to mention sheep being grazed on the slopes and copper mining which began towards the end of the 16th Century. Coniston itself is a pretty village, less busy than Ambleside and Bowness, but well supplied with pubs and nowadays famous for Donald Campbell and his tragic attempt on the World Water speed records. Many years before Campbell though it was John Ruskin though who bought fame to the village and who lived in the spectacular Brantwood on the shores of Coniston Water, the third largest lake in England.

I set out from the village green in reasonable sunshine and ascended past The Sun hotel, the path ran alongside the fast flowing Church Beck and up towards the ruins of the old coppermines now home to a YHA and some beautifully situated holiday homes. There were plenty of Herdwick Sheep and every stream was full of water swelling the falls into picturesquely spectacular cataracts. The steady climb upwards took me through the abandoned slate workings and up into the clouds before stopping for lunch at Low Water, a well situated tarn at the bottom of a bowl below the Old Man. The path to the summit took me into the clouds as it zig zagged up the side with occasional views back towards the village and the lake. The summit was wind blasted and the cloud was down so after a brief stop for the obligatory photo it was onwards along the ridge before dropping down to Goat Hause and then after a steep descent to the moodily situated Goat Water in the valley between the Old Man and the forbidding rockfaces of Dow Crag. I continued onto Little Arrow Moor and across the Walna Scar Road before hitting another quarry (complete with spectacular waterfall) and then continuing onto the village of Torver.

Torver saw the heavens open and I pressed on in the pouring rain towards the lake. I passed through the beautiful woodland of Torver Common where the Oaks and Birch were coming into leaf with the vibrant pale green that only comes with early spring before emerging on the lakeside at the exact spot where a group were barbecuing under a huge tarpaulin and the smells of cooking meat hurried me onward. The path hugged the lakeside with fine views of Brantwood until I hit Coniston Hall and cut inland back to the village through fields of Herdwick Sheep and their lambs to The Crown Inn for a pint and some welcome shelter from the deluge.

I had planned to stay in the YHA for a night and attempt another walk the next day but car problems meant I had to leave Coniston behind and head home a day early, however my appetite is now whetted and I can't wait to be back in this part of the world!
To view the full album for this walk please click on the link below;
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.216812715104308&type=1

Blencathra via Scales Tarn

18.1.12

Walking with; Al

My last walk before the knee operation so wanted to make it a good one, and where better than The Lake District. At 868m, Blencathra is a top 20 Lakes Peak, but as far as the Northern Fells go it is second only to Skiddaw and affords magnificent views in all directions. For many years Blencathra was known as Saddleback due to the shape of the summit which comprises of six separate fell tops, however that doyenne of the Fells, Alfred Wainwright, repopularised the ancient name which is believed to derive from old Cumbrian words for a "bare hill" and "shaped like a chair".......The classic route includes the ascent to Atkinson Pike via the hair-raising Sharp Edge but with plenty of snow and ice still on the ground we decided to make the ascent via the beautiful Scales Tarn.

The path climbs across the hillside behind The White Horse Inn, woodsmoke curling appealingly from the chimney this morning. It was damp underfoot and the wind had teeth, but we gained height quickly and the path curled round til it followed the Glenderamackin River to Scales Beck. We climbed up to the Tarn, the perfect place for a spot of contemplation alongside a coffee and museli bar to fuel the haul up to the summit. Sharp Ridge was beautifully picked out against the clouds and the snow on the tops was clearly visible now. Scales is a fantastic example of a glacial tarn and the name means "The Tarn by the Shepherd's Hut", although there are no signs of a hut there nowadays. Martineau wrote about it in his 1855 "Complete Guide to the English Lakes"

“Here, too, lies another wonder- that tarn (Scales Tarn)
which is said to reflect the stars at noonday – a marvel which
we by no means undertake to avouch. The tarn is so situated at the foot of a
vast precipice, and so buried among crags, that the sun never reaches it, except
through a crevice in early morning."

The climb to the top was tough but the views back to the tarn were fantastic and as we circumvented the patches of snow to reach the official summit at Hallsfell Top the sense of satisfaction was very real. Ahead of us lay Derwentwater and Keswick and the saddle leading to Blease Fell where we'd planned to descend. We could also see Thirlmere, Skiddaw and the Old Man of Coniston to name but a few. We'd planned to have lunch on the top but the wind was so severe that we battled our way along the saddle to Blease Fell before starting to descend. Even heading down it didn't ease off much, but we eventually found a ledge of rock above a ditch and sheltered in there for a hasty sandwich with a view of Thirlmere. The descent continued towards the valley floor before running for around a mile and a half back along the lower slopes with the occasional scramble or beck to traverse to our starting point at Scales.

To view the full photo album for this walk please follow the link below

https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=oa.137670526351861&type=1